Currently: “Foreign” Film

When Bong Joon-Ho won the Golden Globe for best Foreign Language Film in 2020, he said, “Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many amazing films.” This week’s Currently may not be a topic that everyone’s favorite Twitter fiends are talking about, but it’s a topic so close to my heart.

You see, I’ve been watching foreign films since before I could read the subtitles. And recently, in preparation for SASA’s culture night, I’ve been devouring as many Hindi-language films as I could. I watched Bhansali’s “Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela,” an Indian adaptation of Romeo & Juliet, “Rab Ne Bana di Jodi,” Aditya Chopra’s return to directing, and Farhan Akhtar’s “Don” literally all in one weekend. Then I followed it up with a serious “Attack on Titan” binge.

So, today, I want to talk to you about subtitles, the one-inch tall barrier to the rest of the world.

Any true film and entertainment aficionado cannot go without watching foreign films. However, it is a rather Eurocentric perspective to consider anything not produced in America to be a “foreign film.” For the purpose of this article, I prefer to refer to foreign films as films not in your language or a film that depicts a culture you are not familiar with. Viewing these films can help you grasp a language quicker, especially since you are hearing characters speaking the language with familiarity, and can help you understand things about a culture different from your own. To some, Hollywood produces foreign films! It really makes you think- perhaps in the future, historians will analyze films like “Legally Blonde” and “John Wick” to determine how the English language works and what the values of our culture are.

As I was deciphering the genre of one of my favorite Hindi films, I realized that it really exists within its own genre. Hindi films are action, comedy, drama, romance, and a musical all wrapped up in one film. Each three- to four-hour rollercoaster will leave you deeply attached to characters you’ve never met and with a playlist of songs to relive the film for the next few weeks. Furthermore, it is a unique experience, as an American, to watch a film that doesn’t center a white narrative. Every film is completely made by and stars Indians, so the stories don’t revolve around whiteness the way many American films do.

I’m ashamed to say that as a child, I used to ridicule anime. I saw it as a lower-level art style because it’s animated, although my views have since changed. However, “Attack on Titan” is a masterclass in creating an engaging universe and story. The characters are beautifully crafted and easy to fight for in the series’ high stakes environment. It’s also so unique—Japanese anime focuses on its characters' emotions, lets you in on their thought processes, and is known for its excellent action sequences. The premises for most anime series are wildly creative, yet still give viewers an opportunity to further explore humanity’s relationship with society. Anime is engaging, intelligent, and yet still beautiful to view. Now, one could say that there isn’t an “one-inch barrier” to anime, since “Attack on Titan” at least has an English-dub version available, but everyone knows that true fans must hear it in its original language.

Subtitles provide English readers with the supreme privilege of being able to access different cultures. When we excavate the artifacts of extinct cultures, the greatest way to discover the way their society functions is through their art. Art is often the lens through which you can view what a culture values, what they struggle with, and you are doing yourself a disservice in discovering our world if you refuse to watch foreign films.